Wed Oct 02 17:54:32 UTC 2024: ## Doctor Pleads Guilty in “Friends” Star Matthew Perry’s Overdose Death
**Los Angeles, CA** – Mark Chavez, a California doctor, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to conspiring to distribute ketamine to actor Matthew Perry, who died of an overdose last year. The plea deal comes as part of a larger federal investigation into Perry’s death.
Chavez, 54, faces up to 10 years in prison at his sentencing, scheduled for April 2. He has surrendered his passport and agreed to cease practicing medicine.
According to an 18-count indictment filed in August, Chavez is one of five individuals charged in connection with Perry’s accidental overdose. The actor was found dead in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home in October 2023.
Chavez, who operated a ketamine clinic, sold ketamine lozenges to Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who then distributed them to Perry. Plasencia, a Santa Monica-based physician, has pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine.
Texts between Chavez and Plasencia revealed discussions about pricing the drugs for Perry, with messages like “I wonder how much this moron will pay” and “Lets find out.”
Chavez obtained the ketamine by writing a fraudulent prescription in a patient’s name and lying to ketamine distributors. He then intended to sell the drugs to Plasencia for distribution to Perry.
Matthew Binninger, Chavez’s lawyer, stated his client was “incredibly remorseful” and “accepting responsibility” for Perry’s overdose.
Three other individuals have also been charged in connection with Perry’s death: his live-in personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, and a friend, Erik Fleming, both of whom have pleaded guilty; and an alleged drug dealer, Jasveen Sangha, who has pleaded not guilty.
DEA chief Anne Milgram stated that each of the defendants played a key role in Perry’s death by “falsely prescribing, selling or injecting the ketamine that caused Matthew Perry’s tragic death.” She further criticized unscrupulous doctors who “abused their position of trust” and street dealers who supplied Perry with ketamine.
A coroner’s report revealed that Perry had been undergoing ketamine infusion therapy for depression and anxiety, but the levels of ketamine in his body at the time of his death were dangerously high.
First Piper 